Supreme Court Considers Landowners’ Claims Against Texas for Flood Damage

Property owners sued in state court. Then the state transferred the cases to federal court and said the lawsuits couldn’t proceed.

Chief Justice John Roberts attends the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 7, 2023. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool/Getty Images

The Supreme Court heard on Jan. 16 the appeal of a Texas farmer suing his state’s transportation department for damaging his family’s farm.

The case, Devillier v. Texas, arises out of a series of inverse-condemnation cases filed in Texas state courts, all of which claimed a highway project caused widespread flooding. Inverse condemnation is when a government takes or damages property for public use without going through an eminent domain proceeding.